Samoan Music Needs More Originality

Written by Astrid Sesega
Friday, 16 November 2007
Caption – Samson T. Pe’a in his home studio at Portside Records Samoa needs a lot of changes if it is going to create a proper music industry for its artists, says, Samson T. Pe’a, Marketing Director of Portside Records. There are many things lacking in Samoa but one of the most important aspects is originality by the artists that are currently making music. Too many artists in Samoa are stealing music from artists overseas, particularly the United States of America and adding their own lyrics to them or just changing it into Samoan. This is not good for Samoa, says Pe’a, “They are just being copycats.” This also means they cannot release their music in other markets such as New Zealand and Australia for fear of being sued by the original artist. Samoan’s need to become more imaginative with their music in order to increase the markets who listen to their music. American Rapper, Oppcentric, who is in Samoa to record an album says, “You need to find something that makes you different from everyone else out their in order to get noticed.” This is one reason why he has come to Samoa to record his album; he says he knew that if he released it in America it would just “flop” because he would be “just another white guy trying to rap”. So he talked to God and God told him to record it in Samoa, and he says this is how he is different from other rappers trying to make it overseas. His album will have some traditional sounds of Samoa and also feature local talent. This is something artists in Samoa really need to start thinking about so they can attract markets from around the world. Another issue that Pe’a is tackling in order to create a real industry in Samoa is to properly organise the way music is distributed in Samoa, he says this because currently it doesn’t exist. “It is not done in a way which funding will come directly back to Samoa. “We need an umbrella to strengthen this.” Other problems include having no “high tech” recording equipment and no real Recording Studio. Pe’a says there is not one proper Recording Studio in Samoa, “what we are currently using at the moment is called a home studio.” When Samoa can bring in some of these things, Pe’as dream of creating a real music industry in Samoa will be one closer to being achieved. Another initiative Pe’a is exploring to help the Samoan music industry is by creating a Major Record Label in Samoa as this can bring in many benefits. Samoa does not currently have one record label, however by having one Pe’a says we can organise Pacific Music Awards where artists from all around the Pacific will join in. This will bring in revenue for the country and also give the artists of the Pacific some exposure to the rest of the world. “We are currently missing a lot of things.” He also mentioned there is no such thing as going Platinum in Samoa, which is when an artist sells one million copies; this is not possible to do in Samoa. Pe’a and his wife, Dorothy own Portside Records in Apia. Pe’a previously recorded music in America for nine years before coming back to Samoa with the goal of getting Samoa’s music recognised. Comments (4) Subscribe to this comment's feed Alliances with overseas Samoan music Companies written by Island Sound, November 18, 2007 One of the best way is to link with big Samoan studios in New Zealand and the USA. The largest studio in the US owned by a Samoan is Taupou Recording Studio. Its the only Samoan owned recording studio that is a complete full service studio. It records, masters, duplication, cover layout, package and it has the biggest distribution service of CD/Videos in the US for Samoan music. They are located in Hawaii. They also have direct relationships with Samoan radios throughout the US. soifua Difficulty in purchasing Samoan music overseas written by Stephen, November 20, 2007 Another problem facing Samoan music is the difficulty for people overseas to buy Samoan music over the internet. I live in Australia and have been trying for four months to buy a copy of Vaniah's E le galo oe album. I've spent a lot of time looking for an online store that stocks it but I've had no luck. If I didn't want this album so much I would have given up by now. .... written by kellie, November 21, 2007 The best thing to do is to jump on that bebo site and search for vaniah and his sister and maybe ask them if there is anywhere in Australia you can purchase the album, i've bought the CD myself and have to say that this guy and his sister are just totally talented are not to mention totally original!! So that is just a suggestion as i've browsed through bebo and come across their pages. What is originality? written by Nerd, November 21, 2007 When you talk about outside markets, apparently you’re referring to overseas “Samoan” markets, not the general populace abroad, aye? For Samoan artists to be successful in outside markets, they need to compromise originality and record in English (as opposed to the more original Samoan), and then also cater to the popular and more contemporary genres and types. Write comment Name Email Title Comment
Last Updated ( Sunday, 18 November 2007 )

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